Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #144
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Translator(s) note: There is actually a bonus chapter before this one at the end of volume 6. Both free and paid members can access the translation on our patreon. Here is the link to the translated bonus chapter
Episode
144: Reunion
――――Please wait.
That
was my response to the Saintess's invitation.
The
Star Mother Association being the root cause of Angolmois, or the thing about
the Great King of Angolmois...
When
the information was shoved onto me so suddenly, my brain couldn't process them
all.
So
I said,
"I'd
like some time to calm down and think it through."
This
was my own way of testing them.
If
they forced an answer here without giving me time to think, then they would
indeed be a side I could never trust.
If
that happened, I intended to flee the Star Mother Association with all my
might, even if it meant throwing away the one-time free gate usage right.
But
the Saintess simply nodded. "By all means, please take your time to think
it through," she said.
And
then――――
"...I'm
leaving the rest to you."
Several
hours after my meeting with the Saintess.
Having
safely returned to the island, I handled various handover matters.
I’m
about to return to Tachikawa.
Due
to the progression of the Angolmois phase, there was a new addition to the
spatial isolation now:
time
dilation across different regions.
Between
this island and Tachikawa, there seemed to be a time difference of roughly
several thousand times. If the flow of time was 3,600 times faster, a single
day there would be equivalent to nearly ten years here.
According
to the Saintess, this difference in the flow of time increases along with the
depth and number of the dungeons. Areas with fewer dungeons have a faster flow
of time, while areas with more have a slower rate.
Eventually,
as dungeons emerge even in areas with few, the flow of time should eventually
even out everywhere... but regardless, the difference in the flow of time won't
balance out anytime soon.
Even
if I keep my stay in Tachikawa as short as possible, one hour leave would be
the equivalent of being absent for several months.
With
such prolonged absence, of course a temporary leader was essential. No, we
should replace the leader altogether.
And
so, the person chosen was――――
"I’m
leaving the refugees in your care, Yujin-san."
"You
can count on me. I'll make sure to protect them until you return,
Kitagawa."
Yujin-san
was a native of this island and was deeply trusted by the locals.
I
didn't make Victor-san the leader because I thought it would be better to have
the refugees integrated into the island's community rather than remain as a separate
faction indefinitely.
Choosing
the leader from among the refugees would make it difficult for them to shed the
sense of being ‘outsiders’.
By
making Yujin-san, a local, the new leader, it will be easier for them to
assimilate.
To
begin with, the refugees I brought weren't that many compared to the island's
population.
There
was no benefit in maintaining a separate faction and being stubborn about it.
Yujin-san
can be trusted personality wise, and I'm sure he'll take care of the refugees until
they're fully settled on the island.
"I’m
also here, so it’ll be fine, nothing to worry about,"
Following
Yujin-san, Reina added.
If
what the Saintess said was true, all monsters will be the same as the domain monsters,
meaning they will no longer drop as cards when defeated.
While
turning them into cards through negotiation still stands, oddballs like Prima,
who'd willingly choose to become a shackled card, were probably rare.
Even
with Prima, she became a card precisely because she saw that it would make her
stronger. If the other party seemed hopeless, she absolutely wouldn't have
become their card.
In
other words, from now on, we will basically be unable to obtain new cards and
will have to fight using only the cards we already have.
Even
though monsters will no longer attack unconditionally anymore, overall, the
situation will be even more difficult.
In
such a situation, leaving the defense solely on Yujin-san, a three-star
adventurer, left me with concerns.
That
was why I had asked Reina, a professional adventurer, to stay behind as a part
of the defensive force.
"...I
already took the advance payment after all, ha-ha,"
Reina
said with a strained laugh.
...Truthfully,
she had initially opposed staying on the island.
She
probably figured it'd be safer to follow me, and also because her womanly
instincts simply recoiled at the idea of living in a place where you age thousands
of times faster than in the city center.
In
exchange for her staying, I gave her the ‘Golden Apple (True)’ dropped by the
Gatekeeper Idun1.
By
giving her this Apple—said to prevent ten years of aging with a single bite— I
asked her to protect this region.
I've
also asked her to train Yujin-san and the others on Link.
If
you think of it as the cost of hiring a professional adventurer for ten years,
I'd say the price was reasonable.
...By
the way, this contract wasn't just a verbal promise.
I
used Frigg's Authority of Contract to seal the deal. If it were to be broken,
an appropriate penalty would be imposed.
Specifically,
if she breaks the contract, the 'Golden Apple (True)' will be returned to me,
regardless of whether she has used it or not, and she'll be inflicted with 'ten
years of aging', a penalty equivalent to the weight of her reward.
For
a woman who took on this job because of her desire for youth, this was the
heaviest penalty imaginable.
Needless
to say, when I presented the request and compensation upfront, and she jumped
at the chance, her face twisted in knots when I then informed her of this
penalty.
Even
if it means dying... well, maybe not quite that far, but she'd surely try to
fulfill the request right up until the very edge of death.
"Ri-chan,
are you really staying...?"
"Un,
because I want to get strong enough to protect Papa and Ai."
Right
beside me, Ai was saying her goodbyes to Victoria—or Ria-chan, as I call her.
The
two had been inseparable (so much so that it made Athena jealous), so it seemed
hard for them to part ways.
Even
so, Ria-chan had apparently decided to stay on this island with a strong
resolve.
"Leader-san."
Ria-chan
looked at me.
With
a strong will residing in her gentle emerald green eyes, the girl said,
"Thank
you so much for helping us. The next time we meet, I'm sure..."
The
rest remained unspoken, but the message came through loud and clear.
She
was trying to say that next time, she would be the one to help.
I
nodded deeply in reply.
"Yeah,
I'll be looking forward to it."
"...!
Yes!"
I
returned a smile at Ria-chan, whose face lit up instantly, and then shifted my
gaze to the figure behind her.
" I'm
counting on you to look after Ria-chan."
"Hmph,
who do you think you're talking to, human?"
At
my words, the giant man clad in full-body armor resembling a one-eyed robot――――Hephaestus2, who had been standing glued behind
Ria-chan, snorted in boredom.
This
Hephestus was the main reason for her remaining on the island.
Ria-chan
was to stay behind on this island as Hephaestus's master.
―――― Leaving
Hephaestus behind for an island you just happened to stop by? Is it not going a
bit too far?
Anna
or Oribe would surely say that.
But
I wasn't leaving Hephaestus on this island purely out of goodwill, either.
This
was my own form of insurance.
After
the incident with the Hachioji Guild, I felt that Guilds as organizations
weren't as pristine as I'd imagined.
Large
organizations like the Guild possessed an arrogance that could casually crush
the small for the sake of the big.
If
you view Guilds not as ‘places to flee to in times of need’ but as ‘potential
threats targeting your forces and supplies’, then Tachikawa—with its numerous
dungeons and proximity to the Guild—is by no means a favorable location.
I
wanted this island to remain as a place we could flee to if we ever came into
conflict with the Guild.
To
that end, I wanted the island to maintain a state where all the dungeons
remained Calmed and not a single monster remained on the surface—ideally until
my return.
This
island, where much of the pre-Angolmois infrastructure remained intact, was a
heritage site of national importance by now.
However, both Reina and Yujin-san, the key combatants, had lost their main
forces. I would entrust them with a certain number of unused C-rank cards, but
even for professional adventurers, clearing a C-rank dungeon without B-rank
card would be difficult.
This
was where Hephaestus came in. The idea was that with a B-rank card possessing Legion Summoning3, Calming a C-rank dungeon would
be entirely possible.
And
so, I decided to leave Hephaestus behind, but then a problem arose.
Initially,
I had planned to entrust Hephaestus to Reina, a professional adventurer
primarily tasked with Calming the island's dungeon. However, the moment
Hephaestus laid eyes on her, he displayed an extremely intense rejection
reaction.
It
seemed Hephaestus had a real aversion to adult women (especially alluring
beauties like Reina). ...Was it because of all the terrible things Hera and
Aphrodite put him through in the myths?
On
the other hand, when he saw our Athena, he was so smitten he knelt and pleaded,
"Please, allow me to build a temple for you!" And when I had him meet
Ai and Ria-chan as a test, both received immediate approval.
It
turned out this Hephaestus was simply a lolicon.
And
so, Ria-chan became Hephaestus's master.
Even
though she was recognized by a B-rank card, there were still issues like
whether to bring Ria-chan along on the dungeon attack. Ultimately, however,
driven by her own strong desire to 'become stronger so I can protect everyone',
she ended up participating in the dungeon attack, accompanied by Reina and
Victor-san.
When
I returned, Ria-chan might have become the strongest master on this island...
something like that could also be a possibility.
"Well
then, it's about time..."
"Yes.
Thank you so much for everything until now. I'll definitely repay this
debt."
I
exchanged a firm handshake with Victor-san one last time, and then used the
Hamelin's Flute to teleport to the Star Mother Association's shelter.
"――――We've
been expecting you."
Immediately
after the transfer, someone from the Star Mother Association, who had been
waiting for me, called out.
Turning
around, I saw two monsters dressed in modern human-style fashion.
One
was a Hathor, wrapped in a white knit dress with a shawl draped over her
shoulders.
The
other was the goddess Sekhmet4, with the head
of a lion and the body of a voluptuous woman. She was wearing a black leather
rider's jacket and leather pants.
True
to the claim of improving the rights of cards and monsters, huh. They've even
dressed the cards in human clothing.
The
source of that feeling was the Hathor. We should definitely be meeting for the
first time, yet it felt like we'd met somewhere before... Could it be because,
for a Hathor, her features had a distinctly Japanese look to them?
As
I stared intently, Hathor gave me a gentle smile.
For
a split second, that face seemed to overlap with someone else's image――――
Sekhmet's
thorny voice jolted me back to awareness.
"We ain't got time to
spare here. You wanna use the gate, huh? Follow me."
With
that, Sekhmet started walking ahead alone.
Then
Hathor gave a small, wry smile and bowed her head.
"Oh
dear, Leo-kun… My apologies. We will guide you to the Gatekeeper. This way,
please."
"...Alright."
Pushing
down the strange feeling in my chest, I decided to follow Hathor and Sekhmet
for now.
Leaving
the small room the Saintess had designated—"If you're teleporting here,
this is the transfer point"—we walked down a spotless, white corridor
until we arrived at the chapel from the other day.
At
the chapel's farthest end stood a domain gate, and before it, a deity who
appeared to be the Gatekeeper stood waiting.
At
first glance, he was an unremarkable old man with long white hair and a beard.
But upon closer inspection, I noticed a second face on the back of his head.
Janus5, the two-faced god of gates
from Roman mythology.
"You’re
here..."
Janus,
noticing us, spoke in a voice that sounded double-layered.
"The
gate is already connected to your destination."
After
stating only that, Janus left the chapel and went somewhere else.
"Before
using the gate, there are a few points to be noted."
The
moment I stepped toward the gate, Hathor spoke.
I
stopped dead in my tracks and turned around.
" The
Authority of Gates allows access to any door it has connected to at least once.
However, connecting to a gate that it has never linked to requires
approximately one day for the search. Furthermore, this location is filled with
dungeons, and time flows at a pace comparable to the heart of the city. Please
be extra cautious when reusing it."
"One
day..."
So, to
transfer to Ikebukuro, I'll need to spend at least a day in Tachikawa, huh...?
"Well
then, we look forward to your next visit."
With
a final bow, Hathor departed with Sekhmet, who remained sullen to the very end.
I watched them go, then stepped through the gate.
As
the gate closed, the light from the chapel was cut off, and the surroundings
were enveloped in pitch-black darkness.
" Ah...
come to think of it, it's now nighttime in Tachikawa, isn't it?”
With
that in mind, I cast Night Vision magic on everyone and descended the stairs
step by step.
When
we finally reached ground level, I found myself in the familiar land of
Tachikawa.
Is
this... in front of the movie theater near the station?
Picking
up a grimy movie poster from the utterly destroyed ruins before me, I scanned
my surroundings.
The
collapsed station building. The snapped monorail. The torn-up road and the
overturned bus...
Even
amidst Tachikawa's utterly changed landscape, something profound still swells
within me.
I’ve finally
made it back...
"Onii-chan,
let's hurry and go see Mom!"
"...Yeah,
you're right!"
Nodding
back to Ai, who was tugging on my sleeve, I hopped onto Myra's back and we flew
toward the school.
But
what I saw upon returning to the school was――――
"This...
is—"
――――a gaping crater where the
school building had once stood.
***
Notes:
1 Reminder, Idun is the goddess of youth and rejuvenation in Norse mythology.↩
2 Hephaestus is the monster who can build Athena’s temple. ↩
3 Reminder: Hephaestus can summon the Kyklops, his B-rank monster assistants, as subordinates, and the Kyklops can, in turn, summon C-rank Cyclops. ↩
4 Sekhmet, the lioness deity of war and chaos, is the contrast of Hathor, goddess of love and beauty. Together, they illustrate the duality of existence in ancient Egyptian beliefs.↩
5 In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. ↩
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